Former Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta attacked Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina Thursday over police reform during an MSNBC appearance.
“What really strikes me when you talk about Sen. Tim Scott is that this is an African American man who knows the statistics,” Bottoms, who serves as Director of the Office of Public Engagement for President Joe Biden, told MSNBC host Chris Jansing. “African Americans are more than twice as likely to be killed than white Americans in these deadly encounters with police officers.” (RELATED: ‘Why Was He Chosen?’: Sunny Hostin Says Republicans Only Wanted Tim Scott ‘Out Front’ Because He Is Black)
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Bottoms’ comments came following the Wednesday funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after a Jan. 7 incident involving Memphis police officers. Five former police officers face multiple charges, including second-degree murder, in the wake of the incident.
Scott proposed police reform legislation in 2020 after the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis, but Senate Democrats blocked the bill via a filibuster that summer. Scott has opposed efforts to defund police departments and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which the Biden administration supports.
“What we know is that this legislation made it through the House. The Senate stopped. It. Tim Scott helped stop this legislation,” Bottoms said. “So we need senators to act. We need members of the house to act, and the president is going to continue to use the power of his pen from the White House to do what he can do to make sure what we witnessed with Tyre Nichols, what was experienced by his family is not experienced by other families across this country.”
A Scott spokesperson directed the Daily Caller News Foundation to tweets in which the senator explains his opposition to the legislation Bottoms mentioned. “I’ve been working toward common ground solutions that actually have a shot at passing,” Scott said.
This article has been updated with comment from the office of Sen. Tim Scott.
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